A New Way to Fight Climate Change Emerges From Erupting Volcano – Gizmodo

A study published in Nature Communications on May 8, 2026, has revealed that a massive volcanic eruption in the South Pacific acted as an unexpected atmospheric cleanser, destroying a significant portion of its own methane emissions. The findings suggest a natural mechanism for removing methane, a potent greenhouse gas, which could provide new insights for scientists working to mitigate global warming.

The research focused on the 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai submarine volcano. During the event, the volcano ejected approximately 2.9 billion tons of gas and ash into the atmosphere. While the eruption contributed to pollution by releasing about 330 gigagrams of methane—an amount roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 2 million cows—the resulting plume triggered chemical reactions that actively neutralized the gas.

Researchers found that the eruption plume destroyed approximately 900 megagrams of methane every day. This daily cleanup rate is roughly equivalent to the daily emissions produced by 2 million cows. This atmospheric scrubbing process did not end immediately after the eruption. the cloud continued to remove methane for 10 days as it drifted toward South America.

Maarten van Herpen, the first author of the study from the Dutch organization Acacia Impact Innovation BV, noted that while methane emissions from volcanoes are a known phenomenon, the ability of volcanic ash to mitigate that pollution was previously undocumented.

It is known that volcanoes emit methane during eruptions, but until now it was not known that volcanic ash is also capable of partially cleaning up this pollution

Maarten van Herpen, Acacia Impact Innovation BV

The discovery is particularly significant due to the role methane plays in climate change. Methane is a highly efficient greenhouse gas, trapping about 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Scientists estimate that methane currently drives approximately 30% of global warming.

Under normal atmospheric conditions, methane typically breaks down within 10 years. While reducing industrial and agricultural emissions remains a primary goal for climate mitigation, some methane is produced by natural processes, including microbial decomposition and volcanic activity, which cannot be easily controlled.

By uncovering a mechanism where volcanic ash accelerates the breakdown of atmospheric methane, researchers hope to find ways to replicate or enhance similar natural processes to slow global warming in the near term.